Medicare plan considerations
With only a few weeks left in the enrollment period, here’s my take on 2026. Folks in Jasper County on Advantage plans have far more options than those in Beaufort County. The Plan N rates with the carriers I work with remain stable, while Plan G rates are skyrocketing. Brand name drugs like Eliquis and Jardiance remain expensive, especially with the $616 Part D deductible for brand-name prescriptions.
Overall, Jasper County residents have access to more robust Advantage plans than Beaufort County—and one company stands out: Devoted Health. I’ve used Devoted in Florida, North Carolina, and Texas, where it earned a five-star overall Medicare rating for 2026, and my clients there have been extremely pleased.
Why do star ratings matter? Think of them as Medicare’s report card, grading each carrier’s performance across roughly 40 quality measures. The top categories include customer service, drug pricing, member complaints, member experience, preventive care, and chronic condition management. A five-star plan represents excellent performance; a four-star is above average, and a three-star is simply average.
That said, Advantage plans do come with disadvantages—restricted doctor networks, prior authorization requirements, and a track record of improper denials in recent years. The average maximum out-of-pocket cost for 2026 Advantage plans in Beaufort and Jasper counties is around $8,000 per year. It’s not hard to reach that number—especially if you’re diagnosed with cancer. Patients typically pay 20% of all cancer treatments, infusions, and high-cost Part B medications.
Hospital costs are another concern. The average Advantage plan hospital copay for 2026 is roughly $400 per day for the first five days—that’s $2,000 for a short stay. If you’re readmitted after 60 days, those copays reset. Day surgeries average around $400 each, and physical therapy sessions can quickly add up.
If you decide on an Advantage plan, I strongly recommend pairing it with a reliable indemnity plan to help cover hospital, cancer, and surgical expenses. These supplemental plans can be customized around your specific 2026 Advantage plan copays.
For perspective, the average hospital stay is three days, costing around $1,200 out of pocket with an Advantage plan. Compare that to a Plan N Medicare Supplement, which for a 70-year-old female in our area runs about $90 per month ($1,080 annually). With Plan N, you could spend a year in the hospital and owe nothing out of pocket.
Plan N offers peace of mind—no doctor networks, no prior authorizations, and no worries about providers dropping out of your plan. You can see any doctor nationwide who accepts Medicare. For many, the math is simple: a full year of Plan N premiums often costs less than a three-day hospital stay on an Advantage plan.
Chris Dewey started his medicare career in 2010 with Humana as a salaried employee before going independent in 2013. For the past 15 year Chris has helped thousands of seniors navigate the medicare maze in the lowcountry and is licensed in 46 states. Chris and his family live in Old Town Bluffton. Feel free to learn more on Chris’s youtube channel: May River Medicare Insurance on Youtube.
